Civilization Chronicles: Rise of the Divine Creator

“Speaking of which, Eldest Sister Louise should have settled in at Disciples House by now,” Christina mused to herself, recalling from one of the letters Eris had sent her a while back that the First Princess, her half-sister from her Mother Marianne, had come to Misty City and was currently living with them as well.

Thinking of her merchant-minded sister, who always insisted she didn’t want to follow the First Queen’s warrior path, but who also never missed a single day of training in her life and was notorious among her peers for getting into fights, Christina again found herself laughing lightly.

“What’s so funny?” A voice called out from the side.

Straightening up, Christina promptly saluted, “It’s nothing, Commander. I was just… remembering something.”

“Relax, Christina,” Charlotte waved her hand casually, and in a rare display of comradery, actually walked over and leaned up against the gunwale next to the younger woman.

Normally, on duty, Christina would have insisted on maintaining proper decorum, but considering their mission had been successfully completed and all they were doing now was leisurely sailing back to base, she decided to loosen up a bit and rested her elbows against the railing again.

After a short, somewhat awkward silence, Charlotte spoke up first, asking, “So, uh, are you… looking forward to leaving?”

“A little bit,” Christina shrugged, not sure why this woman, who normally kept a healthy professional distance from her, had suddenly decided to chat her up, but she also saw no reason to be rude, so she answered honestly.

“I see,” Charlotte nodded before falling silent again.

Frowning slightly, Christina thought about it for a bit before sighing and asking, “Is there something I can do for you, Commander?”

Pursing her lips, Charlotte’s expression became a bit awkward and contemplative, but in the end, she seemed to have reached a decision and quietly muttered, “I know I wasn’t exactly… welcoming to you and your unit when you first arrived in Amherst, so I would understand if you refused my next request, but… with the Regiment exchange plan… when we arrive in Misty City…”

“Oh,” Christina quickly understood before smiling wryly and shaking her head, “You don’t need to worry about that, Comman… Lady Charlotte. You’ve already apologized for that incident, and I have accepted your apology on behalf of the Third Battalion. I do not see any reason to inflame tensions between us again.”

Charlotte’s expression loosened a bit with those words as they soothed one of her biggest worries about her unit’s upcoming deployment.

“That said,” Christina smirked as she turned around and leaned her back against the gunwale as well, “Even if I wanted to make thing difficult for you and the Piercing Sword Legion’s Second Regiment; General Balfour and Vice-General Crest would never allow it.”

A complicated look appeared on Charlotte’s face when she heard this remark, but she soon just shook her head. What Christina was saying might have been a not-so-subtle jab at what she had done previously, but it was also a simple statement of fact.

Charlotte may not have gotten along with Allina, may not even have liked her, but she also couldn’t recall a single instance where the latter had acted unprofessionally when it came to her duties or even in her private capacity.

Not that she had much interaction with Allina outside of work, mind you.

As for General Balfour, there was no need for Charlotte to even worry. The Marquess would never resort to petty tricks to deal with someone like her.

If Celestina really wanted to make life difficult for her and her Regiment, from everything Charlotte knew of the former’s personality, and the stories she had heard from her elder brother and uncle, she expected the General to just openly punish them.

Whether that was better or worse, Charlotte didn’t know, but since she was the one who started this whole mess, it would be up to her to deal with it.

At the very least, she had to make sure her subordinates didn’t suffer along with her; that was the least she could do for them as their commanding officer.

…..

The journey back to Amherst was much faster than the one upriver, both because they were now traveling with the current and because they no longer needed to conceal their identity.

Of course, ‘faster’ didn’t actually mean ‘fast’. Cargo ships, especially the large-sized ones they were currently sailing aboard, couldn’t be considered fast, at least not compared to the warships they were used to using.

On top of that, in order to ensure the smugglers didn’t get away, Charlotte had basically crippled the mainmast of the enemy vessel, cutting its top speed by at least 30%, so they obviously weren’t going to be breaking any speed records on this return trip with it in tow.

Still, just 3 days later, around noon, Christina stepped off the ship at Amherst’s dedicated military port.

Seeing her breath when she breathed out, and feeling her boots crunch against the freshly fallen snow on the wooden dock, Christina couldn’t help shivering slightly despite carrying all her equipment and wearing a heavy cloak over her armour.

Fortunately, the snow wasn’t too thick and was already starting to melt, otherwise Tina would have been worried about her trip back to Misty City, scheduled to begin tomorrow, being delayed due to inclement weather.

Turning back, Christina shouted, “Third Battalion! Grab your gear and head back to the barracks. We have packing to do!”

“””Yes, Captain!”””

Hearing the enthusiasm in her fellow soldiers’ voices, Christina smiled and nodded.

Although their deployment here had started off a bit rocky, what with losing their commanding officer to a breakthrough and the whole barracks incident, after settling in, things had actually been pretty relaxed.

The officers and higher-ups in the Piercing Sword Legion had some ill feelings towards those from the Raging River Legion, and that kind of sentiment had definitely filtered down to the regular soldiers somewhat, but disliking people you had never met before was easy, while hating those you laughed and shared meals with was much harder.

Such was the case for Christina’s Battalion. They hadn’t been welcomed at first, but over the months, most of the rank-and-file soldiers from both armies had gradually gotten used to each other, with some of them even becoming friends after heading out on missions together.

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